What Arteta said after Arsenal’s loss to Fleetwood

VIA ARSENAL.COM:

Mikel Arteta has spoken to the press following our defeat on penalties to Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup fourth round.

The 10-player Gunners lost out 5-3 on spot-kicks at Highbury Stadium, after a 1-1 draw inside 90 minutes during which Viktor Gyokeres netted his first of the season.

We now switch our attention to Sunday’s huge Premier League clash against Liverpool at Anfield.

Here’s every word from the boss following Tuesday’s tie:

on his reflection of the night:

First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood. In the manner they did it, the atmosphere they created. I have nothing to fault the players for their attitude and intensity throughout the game, with 11 and with 10, but when you are playing in that superior way, you have to give nothing to the opponent. When we create the volume of shots and chances we did, you have to score three, four or five. You capitalise on it. If you don’t, there are no margins, and that’s the reality. Then you have to wait and get through the round on penalties, and we didn’t do that. The probability was low with the way the game was panning out, but it’s football and still with low probability, there is always a chance you could be out of the cup.

on Max Dowman’s red card:

I haven’t seen it back, and with the camera you can’t really see what happens. The decision was made by the referee, and that’s it. Even with 10 men, we had three big chances to score.

on whether Max’s talent could see him targeted by opponents:

We know when we prepare the context of the match, we’re very clear on what to expect. Emotionally, we have to dominate, but we’re very clear.

on what he said to Max on the sideline:

It’s something that we discussed before the game.

on the ‘magic’ of English football through these cup competitions:

This competition and football in this country is like this. The belief and conviction people have is because there is a history related to it. Unfortunately, we didn’t want to go through this – we are extremely sad – but at the same time, we need to congratulate the opponent.

on any potential injuries or selection regrets among the absent players:

No, Calafiori was out, Noni was out with an ankle, and Declan was feeling a problem the other day, which is why I had to substitute him.

on any prior conversations with Max about being fouled regularly:

We’re not going to discuss that here and now.